Conveniently determining the weight of a cargo load on a commercial vehicle has been a problem since horse drawn wagons delivered goods from producer to user. As time has passed, the carriers have become motorized and substantially larger in size, and their load carrying capacity has increased concomitantly.
The cost of delivering a load for commercial purposes is assessed to the customer according to the weight of the load and the distance it must travel. Since a truck cargo may consist of a plurality of individual sub-loads for many customers, a single load for a single customer, or a combination thereof, every sub-load and total load must be weighed and recorded for billing purposes. Due to the fact that trucks rarely are equipped with any weighing device for this purpose, the trucker or carrier must rely on other parties to provide weighing facilitities or weighing calculations for the loads being transported. For example, some shippers provide scale facilities at their loading docks, and a trucker must rely upon the accuracy of the scales for the load data. Alternatively, a trucker may rehandle the cargo at a distribution point where weighing procedures can be repeated and verified. In a further alternative, a trucker may drive to a weigh station or highway scales to weigh the entire truck after each shipment is loaded onto or removed from the truck. In this manner the net change in weight of the entire truck may be ascertained and ascribed to a particular load.
It may be appreciated that the amount of driver's time and vehicle time which is required to attain the requisite weight information is enormous, and the cost of this time is great. Ironically, though, even with the enormous time spent and the cost incurred, the weighing system currently in place often produces erroneous weights which result in inaccurate calculations and erroneous freight charges.
In addition to the direct revenue problems which arise from the current difficulties in obtaining accurate load weight information, the indirect costs of these system errors may be almost as great. For example, overloading of a commercial draft vehicle causes stress on vital components of the vehicle, such as drive trains, brakes, springs, tires, and the like, which are beyond the design tolerances of these parts. As a result, overloading of a vehicle may seriously shorten the working life span of the vehicle and result in higher replacement costs to the vehicle operator. An overload commercial vehicle may also comprise a threat to the public safety when operated on the highways, due to its reduced ability to brake from high speeds or to negotiate corners and the like.
Furthermore, overloaded commercial vehicles are a significant factor in the deterioration of existing highways. Whenever paved roads are constructed, they are designed for specific maximum tolerances in pounds per square inch of load applied to the roadway surface per vehicle tire. When these designs parameters are exceeded by an overloaded vehicle, deterioration of the roadway is accelerated markedly. Even with highway check stations and special equipment carried by highway patrol officers, only a small percentage of overloaded vehicles is detected and cited.